Francine F.

Hi! I'm Francine and I'm a fourth year Creative Writing major at UC Santa Cruz. I am one of the Campus life columnists on Uloop's National Team and also the campus editor for UCSC. I enjoy reading, writing, and taking selfies with my cat.

Some colleges have a textbook exchange page where you can gauge what other students are selling their books for and price your accordingly. You can also try selling it on amazon, selling it back to the university, or holding on to it for the time... (more)

Some colleges have a textbook exchange page where you can gauge what other students are selling their books for and price your accordingly. You can also try selling it on amazon, selling it back to the university, or holding on to it for the time being. There were times where i sold a book because I was eager to make the money back, and then it turned out i could have used information from it in another class and could have saved money by not being a book just like it!

Since it's competitive to get in, it's a good idea to start applying right away to see what your options are. That being said, if you are feeling burnt out, it might be a good idea to take a year off, but use that time to research programs and... (more)

Since it's competitive to get in, it's a good idea to start applying right away to see what your options are. That being said, if you are feeling burnt out, it might be a good idea to take a year off, but use that time to research programs and contact professors. I personally went right into a program because i didn't want to lose my momentum and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Grad school is a big decision, so make sure you weigh all the factors before diving into another 2-3 year commitment. It seems like most people opt for taking time off, so you wouldn't be out of place if you did!

I messaged my roommates on Facebook to say hey and to determine who was going to bring what. We had some basic chit chat conversations, but I tried not to get too in depth over a device. Save some small talk for the first meeting!

Take vitamin C like your life depended on it, don't share any beverages with your hall mates, and make sure to get enough sleep, especially when the sicknesses are going around! I always manage to get some form of a cold right before finals, so I... (more)

Take vitamin C like your life depended on it, don't share any beverages with your hall mates, and make sure to get enough sleep, especially when the sicknesses are going around! I always manage to get some form of a cold right before finals, so I always try and be extra careful and avoid people who are sneezing and coughing in class and in the dorms.

Craigslist or College for-sale websites are great for cheap furniture!! You can also check Ikea or World Market if you want something new. You can decorate with throws and pillows from Target and World Market to make all the furniture you obtain... (more)

Craigslist or College for-sale websites are great for cheap furniture!! You can also check Ikea or World Market if you want something new. You can decorate with throws and pillows from Target and World Market to make all the furniture you obtain look somewhat uniform.
You can also reach out to family members. My roommate was able to get us a table that we could borrow during our stay in our apartment. Her aunt had an extra that had just been sitting in the basement. This is great, especially for a temporary living situation.

At the end of the day, school needs to come first. If you feel like you can't get all of your assignments done, can't study enough, or can't stay awake in class because you are doing too much else, it might be time to evaluate your schedule and... (more)

At the end of the day, school needs to come first. If you feel like you can't get all of your assignments done, can't study enough, or can't stay awake in class because you are doing too much else, it might be time to evaluate your schedule and cut back on something else. I know it can be tough to do, but you don't want to burn out!!

I would opt for a black pencil skirt with a white blouse, paired with a nice necklace and wedges that are professional but easy to walk in. For makeup, you never want to wear too much, so earthy eyeshadow paired with a nice lip to pop is always a... (more)

I would opt for a black pencil skirt with a white blouse, paired with a nice necklace and wedges that are professional but easy to walk in. For makeup, you never want to wear too much, so earthy eyeshadow paired with a nice lip to pop is always a good way to go. The main thing I try and watch out for is adding too much blush!!
Top it all of with some loose curls or your hair in a nice bun and you are good to go.

Speaking to upper classmen who have taken the professor before and can give you an accurate description of what their teaching style is like and also how they class/assignments are structured.
You can also google the professor and see what kind... (more)

Speaking to upper classmen who have taken the professor before and can give you an accurate description of what their teaching style is like and also how they class/assignments are structured.
You can also google the professor and see what kind of subjects they are interested in, regarding their research or conferences they have been a part of, to give yourself more of a sense of who they are.

Put pictures up of your friends and family from back home. Make weekly Skype dates or text/call a reasonable amount so you still feel like you are in the loop with all of them. Busy yourself with schoolwork and actives on campus so you don't... (more)

Put pictures up of your friends and family from back home. Make weekly Skype dates or text/call a reasonable amount so you still feel like you are in the loop with all of them. Busy yourself with schoolwork and actives on campus so you don't notice as much!!
What also helped me was saving up for trips to go home. When I had a visit to look forward to, it made being away a little more bearable.

I've never taken one personally because I don't think I'm self-motivated enough, but my sister took her writing G.E. online and loved it because she had to commute a lot less. It really depends on your work ethic and if you'd rather be stuck learning in a classroom or in your home.

Lit mag publications look better than any program ever will. This is how you build your writer's resume. Make sure to constantly be submitting to literary magazines and figure out what they are looking for so you can cater your writing to that.... (more)

Lit mag publications look better than any program ever will. This is how you build your writer's resume. Make sure to constantly be submitting to literary magazines and figure out what they are looking for so you can cater your writing to that. Pw. org is a great place to look for submissions. Once you have a few on your resume, you can start trying to publish short stories or novellas with a publisher. They aren't going to take someone who hasn't had a yes before, so even if the literally magazines you submit to are small, it's still a great way to get your foot in the door. My professor made my classmates and I submit 13 submissions in hopes of getting rejected, to show us it's just part of the writing process, and through it, a lot of us got at least one publication!! Persistence is key in the writing world.

On apple music, I like to shuffle "study Music," which is a variety of classical music, water/nature noises, and soft piano. The water nosies help me the most I've found, because if it starts to sound too much like music, I get distracted.

I agree with others that LinkedIn is a great resource for this. I found my current job through it and I never would have thought to look for it! Take the time to build your profile and use the tags to insure that LinkedIn gives you recommendations... (more)

I agree with others that LinkedIn is a great resource for this. I found my current job through it and I never would have thought to look for it! Take the time to build your profile and use the tags to insure that LinkedIn gives you recommendations that pertain to what you want. It will take some digging, but you'll find some great options on there.

I buy healthy snacks that I can easily pack and eat throughout my workday. Ex: Snap peas with hummus, edamame, fruit, applesauce, yogurt and granola, and energy bars. I pack this the night before because I am not a morning person and have a hard... (more)

I buy healthy snacks that I can easily pack and eat throughout my workday. Ex: Snap peas with hummus, edamame, fruit, applesauce, yogurt and granola, and energy bars. I pack this the night before because I am not a morning person and have a hard enough time getting out the door as it is. I make sure to eat a filling breakfast, like oatmeal with fruit, and make sure to get a big cup of coffee to start my day.I blast music on my way to work and keep the A.C. on to wake myself up fully. I cheat with the sleep part and take a power nap when I get home from work, but to make sure I can sleep later at night, I get a run in or some sort of workout before I go to bed.
I also plan out my outfits the night before so I don't have to worry about ironing or planning in the morning. The more you can do the day before, the more ready and relaxed you will feel in the morning.
I also set 10 alarms (no joke) to make sure I actually wake up and get to work on time lol

1) Not standing up to my roommates when they would keep me up every night and I had 8ams to get to the next morning
2) Not watching what I ate and gaining the freshman 15 (not a myth)
3) Not going to office hours! There were a few classes where I... (more)

1) Not standing up to my roommates when they would keep me up every night and I had 8ams to get to the next morning
2) Not watching what I ate and gaining the freshman 15 (not a myth)
3) Not going to office hours! There were a few classes where I was so overwhelmed and looking back, I have no idea why I didn't just go to office hours. I think I was scared of the professors
4) Caring too much about how I looked. It's college, you can roll up in pjs if you want! I didn't take advantage of this until senior year really, and I wish I had started sooner.
5) Not exploring and taking advantage of the surrounding city early on

Go to office hours to introduce yourself and ask questions, speak up in class, and email the professor once in a while. Especially if their class is of particular interest to you and/or you want them for a letter of rec, you want to make sure they... (more)

Go to office hours to introduce yourself and ask questions, speak up in class, and email the professor once in a while. Especially if their class is of particular interest to you and/or you want them for a letter of rec, you want to make sure they know you. I was always worried about bothering the professors, but they like when people come to office hours because no one ever really goes!!

With spring break being so short, I usually use mine to rejuvenate after being stressed 24/7 at school! I sleep all that I can and while I try and do some fun things, it's nice to just do nothing sometimes.
Especially now on semesters, I'm... (more)

With spring break being so short, I usually use mine to rejuvenate after being stressed 24/7 at school! I sleep all that I can and while I try and do some fun things, it's nice to just do nothing sometimes.
Especially now on semesters, I'm usually working on a paper during the whole spring break.
If you are in a position where you have the resources and time to take a trip, I'd say go for it, but make sure you get some relaxation time in as well!!

You won't be seen as weird! Many students utilize the counseling resources and everything is confidential, so you don't have to worry about someone finding out if you'd rather keep it private. I think it's important to talk to someone when you are... (more)

You won't be seen as weird! Many students utilize the counseling resources and everything is confidential, so you don't have to worry about someone finding out if you'd rather keep it private. I think it's important to talk to someone when you are feeling overwhelmed, especially during college years where we have way more stress on us than we should. Don't shy away from resources that can really improve your metal state just because you are worried about a label. If anyone says that about you, they are the ones with problems.

Google Calendar is great because you can organize in different colors and have alarms go off to remind you of certain things. You can have events be recurring, or change on the daily.
There is also the phone lock app where you can tell your phone... (more)

Google Calendar is great because you can organize in different colors and have alarms go off to remind you of certain things. You can have events be recurring, or change on the daily.
There is also the phone lock app where you can tell your phone to lock for a certain period of time so you won't be tempted to go on it when you are trying to focus! This will help you stay on task and organized when trying to get school work done.

I didn't have one when I lived off campus because I cooked a lot, but there were some days when I was stuck on campus all day where it would have been really nice to have a meal plan! I think it depends how much you are going to actually cook/ how... (more)

I didn't have one when I lived off campus because I cooked a lot, but there were some days when I was stuck on campus all day where it would have been really nice to have a meal plan! I think it depends how much you are going to actually cook/ how often you are on campus so you can weigh out the costs and see if it is worth it.